internet switch does not work have to use plug in adapter

Im sorry, what is the "laptop computer switch". What functionality on your laptop was not working that you expected to work?

Is it the box that you use to get the internet, which is physically separate from the laptop?

You will need to describe your setup in a bit more depth. If these objects have names and model numbers on them (usually on little stickers on the underside, near a company logo), then this helps too.

If the switch thing is for the internet, previously did you have to trail a wire to use the internet to work?

The internal Internet wireless connection. The computer is a Hewlett Packard product is a compaq 6735s. When it worked previously it was wireless.
How do I find out if the fault is because of Ubuntu as the repair person said or something else. The repair person wanted to charge me £49.00 to reinstall windows.
This repair person still has my other laptop a Toshiba and told me I need a new motherboard for it as replacing the keypad for sticking keys did not work.
My son told me to look up your bugs but I could not find anything relevant

.I told the repairer that they should be able to deal with all operating systems.

>The internal Internet wireless connection. The computer is a Hewlett Packard product is a compaq 6735s. When it worked
>previously it was wireless.

ok, so If I understand your situation right now, you have a comapq 6735s, which now is working off a USB port adaptor (dongle), but the internal wireless does not work, and this needs fixing?

I can't really troubleshoot the other problem without you having access to the other PC, so lets just ignore that for now, and come back to it later.

Also, correct me if this is not right, but the compaq is currently running ubuntu, and is what you are using to post messages here?

The repair person told me they ran a diagnostic what would that have told them. Can that tell them it is an issue with Ubuntu.

yes I am using the Hewlett Packard we are discussing with a dongle

>The repair person told me they ran a diagnostic what would that have told them. Can that tell them it is an issue with
>Ubuntu.

It depends on what the diagnostic was that they ran. "running a diagnostic" is a very vague term.

Ok, so can you do the following. This will look a bit technical, but will allow us to analyse your situation more exactly.

Open a terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T. This should pop open a black window with something like:

marion@laptop $

Now, copy and paste these commands into that window, all as one block:

lspci
uname -a
lsb_release -a
sudo lshw -C network

the last command will ask you for your password. once you enter this (it will *not* be displayed whilst you type), then this will produce a whole lot of text, identifying your hardware, your ubuntu version, and some other technical odds and ends (kernel version, arch, etc).

 Can you post the result of this back here? We may need to repeat this with a few other commands again, once we know what wireless devices you have inside your laptop.

im using
 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)

but getting the drivers/firmware installed for it is giving me a head ache?

david@david-HP-Compaq-6735s:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (int gfx)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 0)
00:07.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 3)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 4)
00:11.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
00:12.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:12.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0 USB OHCI1 Controller
00:12.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller
00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0 USB OHCI1 Controller
00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller
00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 3a)
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 LPC host controller
00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge
00:14.5 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI2 Controller
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor HyperTransport Configuration (rev 40)
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Miscellaneous Control
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Link Control
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS780M/RS780MN [Radeon HD 3200 Graphics]
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8042 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 10)
06:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
david@david-HP-Compaq-6735s:~$ uname -a
Linux david-HP-Compaq-6735s 2.6.38-8-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 11 03:31:50 UTC 2011 i686 athlon i386 GNU/Linux
david@david-HP-Compaq-6735s:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 11.04
Release: 11.04
Codename: natty
david@david-HP-Compaq-6735s:~$ sudo lshw -C network

heres the other info

Your wireless card is thus detected, and installing the drivers is relatively straightforwards.

Follow these instructions :
* Open the software center, then from the Edit menu select "Software Sources".
* Tick the "proprietary drivers (restricted)" box, if unchecked.
* Install the " bcmwl-kernel-source" package

Now:
Under the desktop menu System > Administration > Hardware/Additional Drivers, the STA drivers can be activated for use.

Note: In Ubuntu 11.04, if the driver fails to load, you may need to reinstall the bcmwl-kernel-source package. This can be done from Synaptic -> Mark for Reinstallation.

This is all taken from this help document:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx#STA%20-%20Internet%20access

none of that worked. but it removed it from the network tab. so its worse now lol.

Disappearing from the network tab may be because it is installed.

what is the output from the terminal command:

iwconfig

?

lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan2 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:"BTHomeHub2-2W2C"
          Mode:Managed Frequency:2.452 GHz Access Point: 00:8B:5D:89:20:4A
          Bit Rate=54 Mb/s Tx-Power=27 dBm
          Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=44/100 Signal level=44/100
          Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:1 Invalid misc:41 Missed beacon:0

hope that helps .

I am back this morning and would still like some help if that is possible.
I have been on tech guy forum and they said that the cards are not compatible as vendors of the cards refuse to support Linux.

Amazingly everything started to work again today whether that is delayed reaction from yesterday I dont know but im going to say problem solved.

It may have simply started working due to a reboot. Yes the Broadcom equipment can be problematic and Yes technical support people should be able to handle more than one OS, or at least be able to look outside the Microsoft box. Good for you!

There are vendors who will supply equipment guaranteed to work under LInux and Ubuntu. Regarding your Laptop... if it is no longer under warranty I'd question whether the costly mainboard repair is worth it in the long run. That's up to you of course, but consider if the money might be better off put towards a new machine from one of these vendors?

Chris